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48-403: The Globalstar project was launched in 1991 as a joint venture of Loral Corporation and Qualcomm . On March 24, 1994, the two sponsors announced the formation of Globalstar LP, a limited partnership established in the U.S., with financial participation from eight other companies, including Alcatel , AirTouch , Deutsche Aerospace , Hyundai , and Vodafone . At that time, the company predicted

96-416: A Telecommunications Satellite Park ) innovation was conceived and developed by Joseph Milano in 1976 as part of a National Research Council study entitled, Telecommunications for Metropolitan Areas: Near-Term Needs and Opportunities". A network of ground stations is a group of stations located to support spacecraft communication, tracking, or both. A network is established to provide dedicated support to

144-463: A graveyard orbit above LEO. According to documents filed with the SEC on January 30, 2007, Globalstar's previously identified problems with its S-band amplifiers used on its satellites for two-way communications are occurring at a higher rate than expected, possibly eventually leading to reduced levels of two-way voice and duplex data service in 2008. The company's simplex data services used to support

192-662: A 20% stake in the company. Globalstar is a provider of satellite and terrestrial connectivity services. Globalstar offers these services to commercial and recreational users in more than 120 countries around the world. Globalstar's terrestrial spectrum, Band 53 and its 5G variant n53 offers carriers, cable companies and system integrators a versatile, fully licensed channel for private networks, while Globalstar's XCOMP technology offers capacity gains in dense wireless deployments. The company's products include simplex and duplex satellite devices, data modems, and satellite airtime packages. Many land-based and maritime industries make use of

240-560: A division for developing communications, telemetry , and space navigation systems for satellites. As its expansion increased, it borrowed $ 15 million from the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1965. In the late 1960s, it was awarded many military contracts, including a $ 3.9 million U.S. Navy contract for Doppler navigation radar in 1965, a $ 14 million contract from General Dynamics for advanced electronics for

288-599: A satellite. In May 1984, the Dallas/Fort Worth Teleport became the first American teleport to commence operation. In Federal Standard 1037C , the United States General Services Administration defined an Earth terminal complex as the assemblage of equipment and facilities necessary to integrate an Earth terminal (ground station) into a telecommunications network. FS-1037C has since been subsumed by

336-487: A statement accepting "full responsibility for the matter" and portrayed the incident as an error by a single Loral employee. Ground station A ground station , Earth station , or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves from astronomical radio sources . Ground stations may be located either on

384-496: A variety of asset and personal tracking, data monitoring, and SCADA applications. In late 2007, Globalstar subsidiary SPOT LLC launched a handheld satellite messaging and tracking personal safety device known as the SPOT Satellite Messenger . SPOT X, a two-way satellite messenger with GPS location tracking, navigational capabilities, social media linking and direct communication options to emergency services,

432-419: A €661 million contract for the second-generation constellation. The satellites were designed with a life expectancy of 15 years, significantly longer than the design life of Globalstar's first-generation constellation. The second- generation constellation will consist of 24 satellites. In addition, Globalstar announced on April 3, 2007, that it has signed a €9 million agreement with Thales Alenia Space to upgrade

480-399: Is called a ground tracking station , or space tracking station , or simply a tracking station . When a spacecraft or satellite is within a ground station's line of sight, the station is said to have a view of the spacecraft (see pass ). A spacecraft can communicate with more than one ground station at a time. A pair of ground stations are said to have a spacecraft in mutual view when

528-427: Is still relatively low (approximately 60ms). A Globalstar satellite has two body-mounted, Earth-facing arrays. First-generation Globalstars weigh approximately 550 kg. However, the second-generation Globalstar design will gain significant mass. In 2005, some of the satellites began to reach the limit of their operational lifetime of 7.5 years. In December 2005, Globalstar began to move some of its satellites into

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576-709: The International Consultative Committee for Radio administered standards and regulations now governed by the ITU-R. In addition to the body of standards defined by the ITU-R, each major satellite operator provides technical requirements and standards that ground stations must meet in order to communicate with the operator's satellites. For example, Intelsat publishes the Intelsat Earth Station Standards (IESS) which, among other things, classifies ground stations by

624-568: The North American Numbering Plan in North America or the appropriate telephone numbering plan for the country that the overseas gateway is located in, except for Brazil, where the official Globalstar country code (+8818) is used. The use of gateway ground stations provides customers with localized regional phone numbers for their satellite handsets. But service cannot be provided in remote areas (such as areas of

672-764: The Qualcomm GSP-1600/1700 phones do not have a SIM card interface, but use CDMA / IS-41 based authentication. Therefore, the Globalstar gateways need to support both the CDMA / IS-41 and the GSM standards. Globalstar has roaming agreements with local cellular operators in some regions, enabling the use of a single phone number in satellite and cellular mode on multi-mode Globalstar handsets. These cellular roaming agreements are not in place in North America. Because of improvements in cellular phones and networks and

720-690: The ATIS Telecom Glossary, which is maintained by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), an international, business-oriented, non-governmental organization . The Telecommunications Industry Association also acknowledges this definition. The ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R), a division of the International Telecommunication Union , codifies international standards agreed-upon through multinational discourse. From 1927 to 1932,

768-675: The Company had unrestricted cash on hand and undrawn amounts under the Thermo Funding Company irrevocable standby stock purchase agreement of approximately $ 195 million. In 2007, Globalstar launched eight spare satellites for its existing constellation with a view to reducing the gaps in its two-way voice and data services pending commercial availability of its second-generation satellite constellation. Globalstar continued to operate its failing satellite constellation to provide and support services on an intermittently-available until

816-532: The Company's currently in-orbit satellites will cease to be able to support two-way communications services. Industry analysts speculate the problem is caused by radiation exposure the satellites receive when they pass through the South Atlantic Anomaly in their 876-mile (1414 km) altitude orbits. The S-band antenna amplifier degradation does not affect adversely the Company's one-way "Simplex" data transmission services, which utilize only

864-499: The Globalstar satellite constellation, including necessary hardware and software upgrades to Globalstar's satellite control network facilities. In August 2008, Thales Alenia Space began production assembly, integration, and testing of the second-generation flight model satellites, in its Rome factory, for launch as early as Q3 2009. In July 2009, Globalstar, Inc. announced that it has received complete financing for its second-generation satellite constellation and signed an amendment to

912-461: The L-band uplink from a subscriber's "Simplex" terminal to the satellites. The Company is working on plans, including new products and services and pricing programs, and exploring the feasibility of accelerating procurement and launch of its second-generation satellite constellation, to attempt to reduce the effects of this problem upon its customers and operations. The Company will be able to forecast

960-531: The Sat-Fi2 (Satellite Wifi Hotspot) and Sat-Fi2 RAS (Remote Antenna Station) services would be discontinued as of March 12, 2021. On September 7, 2022, Apple announced a cooperation with Globalstar Inc that "would allow iPhone 14 users to send emergency messages" via satellite, starting in the U.S. and Canada. Apple would go on to release the feature on future iPhone models. On October 29th 2024, Globalstar disclosed in an SEC filing that Apple had agreed to purchase

1008-691: The South Pacific and the polar regions) if there are no gateway stations to cover the area. As of May 2012, voice and full-duplex data services are currently non-functional over much of Africa, the South Asian subcontinent, and most mid-ocean regions due to the lack of nearby gateway earth stations . The Globalstar system uses the Qualcomm CDMA air interface; however, the Ericsson and Telit phones accept standard GSM SIM cards, while

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1056-494: The U.S. Air Force F-111 airplane in 1969, and a $ 3.9 million contract for airborne countermeasures for the Phantom ;RF-4C reconnaissance plane. By the late 1960s, Loral specialized in radar receivers, which identified signatures of enemy radar systems on missiles and anti-aircraft guns. By the late 1960s, Loral's corporate purchases were causing problems for the company. By 1971 it had lost $ 3 million and

1104-587: The United States Bankruptcy Code. In 2004, restructuring of the old Globalstar was completed. The first stage of the restructuring was completed on December 5, 2003, when Thermo Capital Partners LLC was deemed to obtain operational control of the business, as well as certain ownership rights and risks. Thermo Capital Partners became the principal owner. Globalstar LLC was formed as a Delaware limited liability company in November 2003 and

1152-481: The agreement Loral officials neither admitted nor denied the government's charges; Loral executives acknowledged "the nature and seriousness of the offenses alleged by the department in the draft charging letter, including the risk of harm to the security and foreign policy interests of the United States", and stated that they wished to make amends through the payment of restitution. Schwartz subsequently released

1200-555: The amplifiers is now occurring at a rate that is faster than previously experienced and faster than the Company had previously anticipated. Based on its most recent analysis, the Company now believes that, if the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifiers continues at the current rate or further accelerates, and if the Company is unsuccessful in developing additional technical solutions, the quality of two-way communications services will decline, and by some time in 2008 substantially all of

1248-482: The asset tracking products as well as the SPOT Satellite Messenger are not affected by the S-band satellite issue mentioned above. Globalstar also launched eight ground spare satellites in 2007 to help reduce the impact of the issue. In the filing, Globalstar made the following statements: Based on data recently collected from satellite operations, the Company has concluded that the degradation of

1296-532: The capabilities of their parabolic antennas, and pre-approves certain antenna models. Eutelsat publishes similar standards and requirements, such as the Eutelsat Earth Station Standards (EESS). The Interagency Operations Advisory Group offers a Service Catalog describing standard services, Spacecraft Emergency Cross Support Standard, and Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems data standards. The Teleport (originally called

1344-416: The cockpit and cabin were also demonstrated. To work around Globalstar's low data rate, the experimental system used multiple user terminals (UTs) in parallel. Each UT could be configured for voice, or as a member of a bonded link group for internet access. On February 15, 2002, the predecessor company Globalstar (old Globalstar) and three of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of

1392-505: The core of L-3 Communications . Loral was accused of transferring technology to China in 1996. The incident arose as a result of an investigation into the launch failure of Intelsat 708 , a Space Systems/Loral -built satellite. In a 2002 agreement with the State Department and Department of Justice the company agreed to pay $ 20 million in fines to settle the matter and to improve its compliance procedures. In

1440-538: The duration of service coverage at any particular location in its service area and intends to make this information available without charge to its service providers, including its wholly owned operating subsidiaries, so that they may work with their subscribers to reduce the impact of the degradation in service quality in their respective service areas. The Company is also reviewing its business plan in light of these developments. The Company's liquidity remains strong. At December 31, 2006, in addition to its credit agreement,

1488-680: The ground station is the parabolic antenna . Ground stations may have either a fixed or itinerant position. Article 1 § III of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio Regulations describes various types of stationary and mobile ground stations, and their interrelationships. Specialized satellite Earth stations or satellite tracking stations are used to telecommunicate with satellites — chiefly communications satellites . Other ground stations communicate with crewed space stations or uncrewed space probes . A ground station that primarily receives telemetry data, or that follows space missions, or satellites not in geostationary orbit ,

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1536-836: The initial contract, specifying in particular, the adjusted conditions for production and the new satellite delivery timetable. The first six second-generation satellites were launched on October 19, 2010, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The launch used a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle with a Fregat upper stage. These second-generation satellites are expected to provide Globalstar customers with satellite voice and data services until at least 2025. Six more second-generation satellites were launched in July 2011 followed by another six satellites in December 2011. The launch of

1584-450: The largest cellular base station in the world with a design capacity for over 10,000 concurrent phone calls over a coverage area that is roughly 50% of the size of the US. Globalstar supports CDMA technology such as the rake receiver and soft handoffs , so a handset may be talking via two spot beams to two Gateways for path diversity. Globalstar users are assigned telephone numbers on

1632-445: The limitations inherent to satellite phones, the newest Globalstar handset (released in 2006) does not include cellular connectivity as Globalstar does not expect subscribers to carry it as their only mobile phone. Globalstar orbits have an inclination of 52 degrees. Therefore, Globalstar does not cover polar areas, due to the lower orbital inclination. Globalstar orbits have an orbital height of approximately 1400 km and latency

1680-651: The loss of 12 satellites in a launch by the Russian Space Agency . The first call on the original Globalstar system was placed on November 1, 1998, from Qualcomm chairman Irwin Jacobs in San Diego to Loral Space & Communications CEO and chairman Bernard Schwartz in New York City . In October 1999, the system began "friendly user" trials with 44 of 48 planned satellites. In December 1999,

1728-412: The purpose of developing an aviation application of Globalstar. The experimental system not only provided voice and data services to the cockpit and passenger cabin, but also tied in with the aircraft's data bus and provided GPS location service. Ground monitoring of aircraft location, heading, speed, and mechanical parameters such as oil pressure and engine RPM were demonstrated. Video surveillance of

1776-530: The second-generation constellation was completed on February 6, 2013, with the launch of the final six satellites using a Soyuz 2-1a launch vehicle. The 24 second-generation spacecraft weighed approximately 700 kg (1,500 lb) each at launch, and are 3-axis stabilized . Loral Corporation Loral Corporation was a defense contractor founded in 1948 in New York by William Lorenz and Leon Alpert as Loral Electronics Corporation . The company's name

1824-504: The second-generation Globalstar satellites became available for service. Until the new second-generation Globalstar satellite constellation became operational, Globalstar offered its "Optimum Satellite Availability Tool" website, which subscribers could use to predict when one or more unaffected satellites would be overhead at a specific geographic location. In December 2006, Globalstar announced that Alcatel Alenia Space, now Thales Alenia Space in its Cannes headquarters , has been awarded

1872-652: The state's tax breaks and low cost of living. In April 2018, Globalstar announced it would merge with FiberLight in a deal valued at $ 1.65 billion. That deal was called off in August 2018 following a lawsuit from Globalstar's largest investor, Mudrick Capital Management . In March 2020, Globalstar announced that the Third Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP") had approved the 5G variant of Globalstar's Band 53, to become known as n53. On March 6, 2021, Globalstar announced to customers that

1920-574: The stations share simultaneous, unobstructed, line-of-sight contact with the spacecraft. A telecommunications port — or, more commonly, teleport — is a satellite ground station that functions as a hub connecting a satellite or geocentric orbital network with a terrestrial telecommunications network , such as the Internet . Teleports may provide various broadcasting services among other telecommunications functions, such as uploading computer programs or issuing commands over an uplink to

1968-462: The surface of the Earth , or in its atmosphere. Earth stations communicate with spacecraft by transmitting and receiving radio waves in the super high frequency (SHF) or extremely high frequency (EHF) bands (e.g. microwaves ). When a ground station successfully transmits radio waves to a spacecraft (or vice versa), it establishes a telecommunications link . A principal telecommunications device of

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2016-536: The system began limited commercial service for 200 users with the full 48 satellites (no spares in orbit). In February 2000, it began full commercial service with its 48 satellites and 4 spares in North America, Europe, and Brazil. Another eight satellites were maintained as ground spares. Initial prices were $ 1.79/minute for satellite phone calls. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Irwin Jacobs had his private jet re-classified as an experimental aircraft for

2064-627: The system would launch in 1998, based on an investment of $ 1.8 billion. Globalstar received its US spectrum allocation from the FCC in January 1995 and continued to negotiate with other nations for rights to use the same radio frequencies in their countries. The first satellites were launched in February 1998, but system deployment was delayed due to a launch failure in September 1998 that resulted in

2112-626: The various Globalstar products and services from remote areas beyond the reach of cellular and landline telephone services. However, many areas of the Earth's surface are left without service coverage, since a satellite requires being in range of an Earth station gateway. Global customer segments include oil and gas, government, mining, forestry, commercial fishing, utilities, military, transportation, heavy construction, emergency preparedness, and business continuity as well as individual recreational users. Globalstar data communication services are used for

2160-486: Was converted into Globalstar, Inc., on March 17, 2006. In 2007, Globalstar launched eight additional first-generation spare satellites into space to help compensate for the premature failure of their in-orbit satellites. Between 2010 and 2013, Globalstar launched 24 second-generation satellites in an effort to restore their system to full service. Between 2010 and 2011, Globalstar moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Covington, Louisiana in part to take advantage of

2208-455: Was launched in 2018. Globalstar satellites are simple " bent pipe " analog repeaters , unlike Iridium . A network of ground gateway stations provides connectivity from the 40 satellites to the public switched telephone network and Internet. A satellite must have a Gateway station in view to provide service to any users. Twenty four Globalstar Gateways are located around the world, including seven in North America. Globalstar Gateways are

2256-836: Was sometimes unable to meet its loan payments. Many acquisitions were not profitable and also not in Loral's primary business. The founders, Lorenz and Alpert, were prepared to sell half their interest in the company. Loral was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1972 before it was acquired by Bernard L. Schwartz . Over the next two decades he built it into a major player in the global aerospace and defense industry, acquiring 16 other defense and aerospace companies. In 1995, Loral had $ 5.5 billion in revenue. In 1996 Loral sold its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin ; its remaining units became Loral Space & Communications . The following year, several of those former Loral units were spun off by Lockheed Martin to become

2304-843: Was taken from the first letters of each founder's surname. Loral Corporation originally developed radar and sonar systems for the US ;Navy. In 1959 it went public with an initial offering of 250,000 shares at $ 12 each. Part of the proceeds from this offering were used to build a new headquarters on its 10-acre (40,000 m ) site at 825 Bronx River Avenue, in the Soundview section of The Bronx , New York. In 1959 it began to diversify, buying several smaller companies, through which it won more military contracts. Some purchased companies included Willor Manufacturing Corp., American Beryllium Co., Inc., of Sarasota, Florida , Arco Electronics, and several plastics companies. In 1961, it formed

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